Kevin Durant, at the start of the year, questioned his critics for not including him in the GOAT debate. “Why shouldn’t I be in that? That’s the question you should ask. Why not? What haven’t I done?” While some may agree with it now, given KD’s performance at the Olympics, his former teammate always believed in his work ethic. Kendrick Perkins even shared this specific ability of Durant’s with Kevin Garnett, which took him by surprise.
During the Quarterfinal game against Brazil, the Slim Reaper grabbed 11 points for Team USA. And that made him the all-time leading scorer in U.S. Olympic history. Speaking about the history, Perkins revealed the story of his first season with the Oklahoma City Thunder after being traded from the Boston Celtics. Kevin Garnett called up his former teammate and asked about the young KD. “No lie he was like ‘Hey, how young fella is over there man he work hard?’ and I was like what? I was like motherfu**** he worked harder than you!”
During the 2010-11 season, Durant was still young, entering his 4th NBA season. However, by then, he had averaged 25.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. The Big Ticket refused to believe the hype as he thought Perkins was hyping up his new teammate. But, the ESPN analyst stood on his ground. “And I’m like Ticket this motherfu**** punches in the clock,” Kendrick Perkins said to the Road Trippin’ live stream. However, Kevin Garnett still refused to believe, “Like man, he ain’t working hard like that.”
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Perkins was ready to prove it to his former teammate and also narrated that incident. While traveling to another city and the day before the game, players used to meet for dinner plans. But, Durant would first end up at a local high school gym for a workout. “So I went with him and I FaceTime KG. I say look bro, we just landed. He in the gym like this is our franchise guy.“
Perkins further explained that whatever moves KD pulls off now, it’s all due to practice. He even called him the ultimate gym rat and as well as the greatest scorer to ever touch a basketball. But, what does Kevin Garnett feel about Durant’s performance?
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce speak on Kevin Durant’s legacy
Before Kevin Garnett, another Celtics teammate, rated KD highly. Paul Pierce acknowledged that Durant was one of the greatest scorers. “I put him, at one point, the best player in the league over LeBron when he was in Golden State“. Pierce also spoke about how amazing it was for the Slim Reaper to continue scoring even at 35.
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Kevin Durant's work ethic surprised Kevin Garnett—Is KD the hardest worker in the NBA?
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After 16 seasons in the league, KD averaged 27.3 points, and 7.0 rebounds per game and has been selected in 14 All-Star games. “He’s a walking bucket. When KD put one leg out the car, that’s a bucket.” He continued with the analogy, stating when Durant puts another leg out, that’s a total of two buckets.
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Even The Big Ticket agreed that, at the age of 35, it ain’t easy to consistently score. So, when the year started, Durant asked his critics, ‘Why not?’ and he seemingly answered them with his performances.
“Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.”
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Kevin Durant's work ethic surprised Kevin Garnett—Is KD the hardest worker in the NBA?